Shree Vijaya Durga Temple of Sri Siddha Lalitha Peetham in Burlington, MA celebrated its annual auspicious Ganesh Chaturthi Utsav with lots of devotees, young children and teens from the Greater Boston area who came together to participate in the Utsav. The day marks the birth of Lord Ganesh and was observed for ten days from Monday, September 18, 2023 to Thursday, September 28, 2023 with much pomp and zeal.

On the first day of Shree Ganesh Utsav, temple priest, Pandit Bhavani Tejasvi Athmaram Ji, started with Lord Ganesh welcome along sponsors and devotees by shouting Slogans, Ganpati Bappa Moraya! Mangala Murti Moraya! This was followed by Lord Ganesh Stapana with sponsor Sankalpam, Ma Gauri and Lord Ganesh Abhishekam, and Archana while chanting Mantras and shlokas and later did Maha Mangalarati of all the deities of the temple.  Pandit Athmaram Ji created a tall standing Ganesh idol and installed him on a beautifully decorated stage for the event. He also did special Alankarams namely Kumkum, Turmeric, Vibhuti, Chandan, Dry fruits, Banana, Betel leaves (Pan), flowers and other and special Pujas, Archanas and procession of Lord Ganesh Murthi on all days. Homam, Modaka Archana and Nritya Seva to Lord Ganesh were also performed as the part of the celebration.

Shree Ganesh Utsav event aimed to bring people of diverse backgrounds together to celebrate the spirit of unity, cultural heritage, and harmony. Our younger generations have a unique opportunity to learn about our culture, traditions and deepen their understanding of the Sanatan Dharma/Hinduism, foster a sense of belonging and uphold their Hindu identity. This festival highlights the arrival of Lord Ganesh to earth from Kailash with his mother, Goddess Parvati. He is generally worshiped as a god of wisdom, prosperity, and good fortune, Lord Ganesh is a remover of hurdles also symbolizes the triumph of good over evil, reminding people to embrace wisdom and humility in their daily lives – said Pandit Athmaram Ji.

The last day of the celebrations was marked as Ganesh Visarjan, immersion of Lord Ganesh’s idols in water. Pandit Athmaram Ji blessed all the sponsors and devotees to have a healthy, happy, and successful life. Temple president thanked all the sponsors for their generous support, volunteers for their selfless services in all the temple events. He also expressed his humble gratitude for the active participation of all the devotees of Greater Boston area.

One devotee said, ‘we come here for our spiritual development and understanding our Sanatana rituals and traditions in their true sense.’

For more information about the temple timings, special events and priest services, please visit their website at https://siddhalalitha.org/web/online/  or send an email to priestServices@srikali.org  or call Ph: 781-369-KALI 

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